Generally, a computer architecture includes mother boards that serve as a communication medium for the exchange of electronic signals between a plurality of daughterboards. Circuitry on each daughterboard can generate communication signals, which are distributed to connectors mounted along an edge of the daughter card. Daughterboard connectors mate with a corresponding set of backplane connectors, typically arranged in equidistant rows on the backplane for providing interconnection and distribution of signals between them.
The position of a daughterboard on the mother board can be fixed by a card guide. For vertical placement, the card guides are elongated components that can be removably attached to two opposing sides of the daughterboard. Generally, card guides may require 0.1″ (2.5 mm) by 0.2″ (5 mm) area along both sides of the daughterboard to be clear of traces and components. This requirement can impose particular limitations that can make such a card guide incompatible within the modern tendency of decreasing the size of electronic components.